Chapter 5.2.

Certification procedures

Article 5.2.1.

Certification should be based on the highest possible ethical standards, the most important of which is that the professional integrity of the certifying official must be respected and safeguarded.

It is essential not to include in the requirements additional specific matters that cannot be accurately and honestly signed by a certifying official. For example, these requirements should not include certification of an area as being free from diseases that are not notifiable in that country, the occurrence of which the signing certifying official is not necessarily informed about. Equally, to ask for certification for events that will take place after the document is signed is unacceptable when these events are not under the direct control and supervision of the signing certifying official.

Article 5.2.2.

Certifying officials should:

1. be authorised by the Competent Authority of the exporting country to sign international aquatic animal health certificates;

2. only certify matters that are within their own knowledge at the time of signing the certificate, or that have been separately attested by another competent party approved by the Competent Authority;

3. sign only at the appropriate time certificates that have been completed fully and correctly; where a certificate is signed on the basis of supporting documentation, the certifying official should be in possession of that documentation before signing;

4. have no conflict of interest in the commercial aspects of the aquatic animals or aquatic animal products being certified and be independent from the commercial parties.

Article 5.2.3.

1. Certificates should be designed so as to minimise the potential for fraud including use of a unique identification number, or other appropriate means to ensure security. Paper certificates should bear the official identifier of the issuing Competent Authority. Each page of a multiple page certificate should bear the unique certificate number and a number indicating the number of the page out of the total number of pages. Electronic certification procedures should include equivalent safeguards.

2. They should be written in terms that are as simple, unambiguous and easy to understand as possible, without losing their legal meaning.

3. If so required, they should be written in the language of the importing country. In such circumstances, they should also be written in a language understood by the certifying official.

4. They should require appropriate identification of aquatic animals and aquatic animal products except where this is impractical (e.g. eyed eggs).

5. They should not require a certifying official to certify matters that are outside his/her knowledge or that he/she cannot ascertain and verify.

6. Where appropriate, they should be accompanied, when presented to the certifying official, by notes of guidance indicating the extent of enquiries, tests or examinations expected to be carried out before the certificate is signed.

7. Their text should not be amended except by deletions that must be signed and stamped by the certifying official.

8. The signature and stamp must be in a colour different to that of the printing of the certificate. The stamp may be embossed instead of being a different colour.

9. Only original certificates should be accepted by the importing country.

10. Replacement certificates may be issued by a Competent Authority to replace original certificates that have been, for example, lost, damaged, contain errors, or where the original information is no longer correct. These replacements should be provided by the issuing authority and be clearly marked to indicate that they are replacing the original certificate. A replacement certificate should reference the number and the issue date of the certificate that it supersedes. The superseded certificate should be cancelled and where possible, returned to the issuing authority.

Article 5.2.4.

1. Certification may be provided by electronic documentation sent directly from the Competent Authority of the exporting country to the Competent Authority of the importing country. Normally, such systems also provide an interface with the commercial organisation marketing the commodity for provision of information to the certifying authority. The certifying official must have access to all information such as laboratory results and aquatic animal identification data.

2. Electronic certificates should carry the same information as conventional certificates.

3. The Competent Authority must have in place systems for the security of electronic certificates against access by unauthorised persons or organisations.

4. The certifying official must be officially responsible for the secure use of his/her electronic signature.